


High school AU

by Colorora



Category: Homestuck, Strifin and Buildin
Genre: Abuse, Child Abuse, Drugs, F/M, aeseop is a BAD, not really she's just trying 2 get by
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-19
Packaged: 2019-01-16 07:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12338457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Colorora/pseuds/Colorora
Summary: A (not so) silly highschool AU for some fantrolls of mine and some friends. You probably won't get it if you're not one of us but hey, no ones stopping you from reading this.





	1. Prologue

"How's your mom and sister Abs? Any new stories from that side?"

"Ugh, don't even get me started on all that mess. I really wish I could do something about it... I got a text from her last night asking me to sneak her some tampons after school tomorrow because mom refused to buy her any. TAMPONS."

"Eurgh.. uh... Abs?"

"Oh come on Oliver, grow up. You can handle a mention of tampons once in a while."

"No it's just.. ugh, my little brother's in the room and he's making a face"

"What do you mea- wait, am I on speakerphone?"

".... not anymore"

"Honestly you and your dad need to stop sheltering him. He's such a little brat"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
You wake up and rub your head. There's definitely a bump there from being pushed down the stairs a couple days ago. Good thing you won't have to hide it like your other injuries you've had before. You throw your hair into a ponytail, hop into what was once an oversized sweatshirt and some jeans, and dab on some foundation to cover up the still prevalent bruises on your forehead and chin. You dig around your room for your stashes, come ON. You know you had that nature valley bar stuck somewhere in your closet. Oh whatever. You'll just uh.. have whatever Leah brings you. Yeah.

You sneak downstairs on all fours. Careful not to wake your mom up, she passed out last night at 7 right after she got home from work early. And then woke up at 11 and stayed up the whole night. You didn't get the chance to get something to eat then either. You check your bag for the goods. Candy bars? Check. Money? Check. Jars of vodka? Check. You tie your shoes and sneak out the back door to the bus stop. You see Jeremy coming towards you and hope you can maybe get some off him.

It's a brisk but gloomy autumn day. The temperature is just right. But it's grey and gross and ugh. You can tell today won't be much of an impact on your life at all. Nothing new at school. None of your friends are pregnant. Your mom is the usual. Tonight she'll come home and scream up "ANNA GET ME A GLASS OF WINE" and you'll oblige, then she'll smack you upside the head because there's too much or too little or it's not the right wine glass or it's not the right wine and send you upstairs. Yeah, this is a no-consequences, may-as-well-not-count day. This is the perfect day any druggie highschool kid would wanna be drunk in school. Not you. But a druggie highschool kid... like Jeremy. 

"Hey, you wanna get buzzed before school Jers?" He looks at you inquisitively. And you take your bag off your shoulder. Hoping that means yes.

"...what you got? And what do you need the money for anyways, ain't your mom making millions?" You bite your lip at the mention of your mom, but pull out the jars of vodka all the same. They range from teensy tiny with a cork in them, to jam jars, to mason jars. You set one of each on the ground.

"I'm savin' up to get away from my house. And my mom barely gets into the hundred thousand club, you know this dude" You brush away some flyaway hairs from your face as you try to remember your set prices. "The little ones are five. Mediums are twenty. Largest are... fifty" he crosses his arms as you continue. "The smalls and mediums have everything from plain old vodka to banana liquor to beer. You know what I have and what I don't. I'm not listing them off." He rolls his eyes and so do you.  
"Large is only vodka. I usually have beer, but my sister's a poor college kid and sometimes she can't supply".

He takes out a twenty and hands it to you. "You sound like you're making this all up on the spot, but fine, I'll take a medium filled with vodka" you smirk. And hand him one while taking the bill and stuffing it in your pocket. You shake his hand mockingly.

"Pleasure doing business with you." You're about to offer him a complimentary pack of rockets for buying off you, when the bus pulls up. You pull your bag back over your shoulder and trudge up the stairs. You sit alone, like always. You want your space. Just when you're about to stick your headphones in some greaser turns around and peeks up over the seat in front of you.

"Yo Blaren. Wanna trade?" You raise an eyebrow.

"What could you possibly have that I want? I don't consume the shit I sell. I'm not that kind of kid, Derek. Gimme money or bust."

"Codeine" you blink.

"Opioids? Dude what the hell?! That shit can kill you." You cross your arms and are about to turn on your music when he scrambles to make up for it. Outlaying the terms of his proposed agreement.

"Nah, nah, Blaren, cmon. How about this? If you spread the news of my little... let's say 'business' and gimme a medium of vodka every Wednesday. I'll pay you fifty a month, and five.. little.. pills." You bite your lip. Five, how much is that? "You look confused, I'll explain, five pills is enough to make alllll your problems go away for at least a few hours. But I guess I'd start with three pills for a tiny baby like you. If you save enough up you can off yourself. Y'know, if you're into that sorta thing." your face goes sour and he laughs. God, his breath smells like weed and smokes, you flinch away. "And... I'll have sex with you"

Wink.

That last statement seems like more of a threat if you don't agree than anything else. Just... the way he says it. You guess... ugh. Fine. You slide down in your seat and hide your face. "Fine, but lose the sex". He drops a 50 and five loose pills into your hand. You stare at them before stuffing them in your bra. They're least likely to get caught there both by school officials and your mom. Even if it is gonna be uncomfortable and gross all day.

Once the bus driver stops giving a shit, you turn sideways in your seat and lean against the side walls of the bus, pulling your knees to your chest. You sigh and nearly fall asleep. You didn't get the best sleep last night, what with your mom yelling at your sister over voicemail all night.

Abi never picks up the phone. You don't know why your mom keeps trying.


	2. Chapter 1

You are now Abigal Mae Blaren

Nope, nah, let's not do that whole thing. The audience can tell whose whinny context clues. Plus. Stop calling you by that DAMN NAME! 

You finish up archiving the like ten voicemails your mother left you. You've long stopped listening to them. But once your sister gets out of that place you're gonna do whatever it takes to put her away. And those voicemails have several years of incriminating info stashed away in them. You've been stockpiling them since eighth grade, when you finally saved up enough to buy a phone. You and your sister shared it for a while until you left for college and she got her own. Well, actually you and her put money together to get a new one, you got the new one and gave her the old one. Per her insistence that you'd need it for college.

Man, did you feel bad taking it. Anna's always under the impression she deserves less than mom or you or Leah or whoever the fuck. But she's also incredibly stubborn and wouldn't take no for an answer. So you walked away with it. Her grades have been lacklustre lately. And you honestly can't blame her. It's a good thing mom doesn't care about anything but getting rid of you two as quickly as possible. So you can sleep easy at night knowing that of all the things Anna's getting a beating for, her grades won't be one.

You saved up all you could, applied to so many scholarships and even got a job to pay your own way through. That coupled with selling some... questionable items and leeching off your friends. You finally got your acceptance letter to study kinesiology at the local university. It wasn't Ivy League, far from it. But damn if it wasn't good enough. The only trouble when that letter came in was telling your mom.

*flashback*

After jumping and dancing around your room with Anna for a good half hour when you checked the mail. You finally settled down next to her on her hemisphere (the southern one) of the bunk bed. At least, that's what you guys called it at the time. She was obsessed with geography at the time. 

"So... you're gonna leave?" You nodded. She seemed scared. You would be too if you were in her situation. Alone in a house with that monster guarding your life. At least for the past fifteen years you had each other. Mom used to be a lot nicer when you were really little, that all seemed to change once Anna was born though. You never blamed her for it of course, she received enough flack from your mom for having the nerve to exist. Maybe it was because she never knew Anna's Dad. Maybe it was because of the diagnosis she got when Anna was a year and a half old. Maybe it was you. Maybe it was something else entirely. But everything seemed to change from when you entered kindergarten onwards.

"Yeah.." You could see your sister clench her fist as her other hand ventured up to start pulling at her hair. You grabbed her arms and held them down searching for an alternative to the harmful behaviour nearby. Eventually settling for a random hairbrush strewn about. She started to pick and pull at it while you continued. "Listen but- but it'll be okay. I'll keep protecting you til the day I die. In any way I can. Tonight I'm gonna tell her, and I'm also gonna confront her about.. about all this." Her eyes go wide and she shakes her head vigorously. You know what she's scared about. She's scared she'll get hurt tonight. You're scared she'll get hurt tonight too. "Hey, hey, it'll be okay." 

"But- but- she- what if-" You put a finger to her mouth and hug her tight. Whispering that it'll all be okay in the end.

The next few hours went by in a blur. Yelling, fighting, hitting. Your mom threw a glass at you once, which you narrowly avoided thanks to your sports skills mixed with her terrible aim. You asked a lot of questions. All met with relentless gaslighting and manipulation attempts. 

"Why do you do this to us?! Is it because Anna's autis-"

"DON'T SAY THAT WORD ABIGAIL MAE" she's right up in your face. You're the tallest one in the household yet she still manages to make you feel small. "YOUR SISTER IS A BRAT. THAT'S ALL SHE FUCKING IS AND ALL SHE EVER WILL BE" She pushes you down onto the couch and you look up to see your sister standing right in the doorway of your shared room. For the first time that night your eyes filled up with tears. Your mother looks over and scowls at Anna, making her dart back into the room. "Get out. Get out of this damned house Abigail Mae." 

You stomped upstairs and started grabbing your things. All the money you've saved up, yours and Anna's bug bag. Filled with all your documents, clothes, sanitary items, and meds. You also have your sentimental items in there. For Anna that includes her bear, the clay mug that she likes the texture of, and the locket your mother let you pick out in the hospital gift shop. She sent your little three year old ass down with the nurse and you picked out the maroon heart shaped one. That was back when your mother was good.

For you your sentimentals include baby pictures, one of Anna's journals you rescued from the garbage after mom threw it out. And a hand made birthday card from when you were eleven and Anna was eight. Anna looks over at you. "Why are you grabbing my bug out bag?" She cocks her head as if it isn't obvious.

"You're coming with me." As if on cue your mother pounds on the door so hard you think it might blow down. Anna slaps her hands over her ears.

"YOU ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT. I'LL CALL THE COPS ON YOU." Well... it was worth a shot. Your mom may have wanted her out of the house. But then who would she have to scream at, starve, and abuse? You mumble some swears under your breath and pull together the last of your things before sitting down on the bed, your sister's having a meltdown and this is the one time you've gotta abandon her. You brush some hair away from her face and kiss her on the forehead

"You, Anna Faith Blaren, will get through this. And then what're we gonna do?" She grunts. Faith was the middle name YOU gave her. Mom may not have been full-mean when she was born. But it was clear she didn't care enough to give her a middle name. Great, she's gone nonverbal. Not that she can help it. But mom's gonna scream... "That's right, we're gonna put her away. Listen. Listen to me baby girl. Just go another three years and I'll do all I can to help you. Promise promise PROMISE"

She grunts again and you give a tight hug. You don't know if she's keen on touch anymore. But it's honestly more of a reassurance to you than her. You get up, open the door, push past your mom, and don't look back as she enters the room behind you. You run out of the house as fast as possible so you won't have to hear both of their screams. 

*flashback end*

After that night you routinely sent three check-up texts a day for Anna. One in the morning, one right after she got off school, and the other right before she went to bed. At least until she snapped at you, telling you that she's not a baby, and that she doesn't need to be catered to every second. That hurt a bit, it felt like she was taking her sadness and frustration from mom out on you. Well.. you guess like mother like daughter. Though it kills you to say it. Anyways, you don't talk to Anna as much anymore, really only long conversations once in a while and asks to buy her beer or liquor or candy or whatever to sell at school. You don't like what she's doing. But she's gotta save up to get out somehow.

You're just glad she has someone to fall back on. If it wasn't for the fear of your mom calling the cops. You'd beg her to run away to her friend's house. Leah's mom is unlike one you've ever seen before. She's caring and attentive and speaks in a soft voice. The first time Anna met her she ran around the corner and hid. Leah's mom is a boxer/wrestler. You don't really know the difference. Her arms are the size of your torso. And you think Anna's thought process at the time went a little like 'if my mom can do all that to me. And she's tiny. What can THIS lady do?!' You don't blame her. But alas, Leah's mom is the best you've ever seen. You've had a few run ins with her yourself. You graduated with Leah's older sister Ally, and though you two never really got along. She invited your whole family, including mom, over for supper one night. 

That night was great, you'd never seen Anna more out of her shell. Though you wish that bitc- er, you mean your mom weren't there. You mostly glared at Ally across the table all night though. You two are better now.

>be a different kid. In a better family, in a more functional family.

That's enough of sadness! It's time to be Leah.

Your alarm beeps, playing the radio hits of the month. You wake up with a smile on your face and kick the blankets off your bed. You shimmy into your jeans and a yellow over the shoulder top. High pony, eyeliner sharp enough to stab any teacher who tries to dress code you. They know now enough to just let you wear whatever you want. After they called your mom in and she did all but threaten to beat them to a pulp. 

You pop downstairs and greet your mom and sister. "Hey guys, oooh! Pancakes and eggs? Love you mumma!" You kiss your mother on the cheek and load your plate. You sit down in the dining room beside your sister. Who is already stuffing her face, still half-standing up. "Woahhh, where's the fire?!" 

"'M late fro mi intr teh hdhspy cls" you raise an eyebrow. 

"Maybe you should be majoring in English instead of Marine Bio?" You laugh a bit and she glares. Swallowing the food in her mouth with one big gulp.

"I'm late for my intro to psych class! And mom wouldn't let me go with just an apple!" She rushes to get her bag and flies out the door. Your mother calling out goodbye to her. She walks into the dining room, two lunch bags in her hand. 

"Good morning dear!" She kisses the top of your head and slides the bags across the table. "Blue for you, green for Anna." You blush and face palm. Cutting off another piece of pancake.

"Mum I told you, I can make my own lunches, I'm a sophomore." You take the bags anyways. ".. but thanks for the lunch for Anna. She needs it." You scarf down your breakfast and head upstairs to brush teeth, make bed, and pack your bag. If you left now you'd be at school before the doors even unlocked. You flop down on your bed and stick your headphones in your ears, opting to text your boyfriend good morning. He's always skipping school, drinking, smoking, uh... but definitely not sex. He loves you. He'd never do that to you. 

He reads it, but doesn't reply. That's always what he does, you think about what you could have done to make him not want to respond. You missed a capital letter there, were there too many hearts? Ugh.. you'll have to try harder next time.

You switch to your favourite mobile game and play til it's time to go, you live within walking distance of the school. So that's usually what happens. Your mom is talking on the phone with somebody, probably a sponsorship deal or something. Nonetheless, she's busy, so you pop into her office and blow her a kiss before waving goodbye. She mouths 'love you'. You pull on your pink converse and walk out the door. 

It doesn't take long to get to school. You wave to Lexi as she crosses the street to join you on the sidewalk. "How was morning practice?" You ask her. She rolllls her eyes and groans a long drawn out groan. 

"SO tiring. Five AM. 'Cmon people let's do a run of the field!' Ugh. I exist in a love-hate relationship with football. I don't know if I'm gonna do it next year.." she's two years younger than you. In eighth grade. Baby. But she's gonna be a big athlete in the future. You know it. You don't hang out with her very often, but she's pretty cool. She usually spends her time trying to protect her friend from the junior girls. But that's none of your business. She seems to have it down pact anyways. "Oh! Daniel told me to tell you to tell Xaivier to tell his brother that his dad wants to meet with him about the job offer" you laugh a bit at the connections of 'to tell _'. 

"What job offer? Are those two finally gonna stop freeloading off their rich dad?" Lexi shrugs. And zippers up her jacket. You've got to admit, now that it's November, it's starting to get really cold in the mornings.

"Dunno. I'm just the messenger" she shrugs and hops in front of you on the sidewalk. "God, I can't WAIT for high school. I'm gonna get into fights and smoke weed and drink and have se-" 

"Pffft oh my god Lexi. You're forgetting high school is just middle school with a different name. It's still a place for learning. Plus, cmon, you don't wanna go down that road." She laughs and rolls her eyes.

"Okay yeah, maybe I am getting a little too ahead of myself. Was just jokin' anyways." She sticks her tongue out at you and turns the corner to head to the middle school. Waving goodbye at you. "See ya after schoooool!" You wave too and start heading downhill to your school, spotting Anna's bus as it pulls up. 

You wait for her to get off the bus, it doesn't take long, she always sits in the front. She tells you that that image of the alone kid on the bus sitting in the back while everyone in front talks is a bunch of bullcrap. And that the front is where you wanna sit if you don't wanna get punched or insulted. You guess that would make sense, during school field trips the popular kids would always show dominance by sitting in the back where the big window was and waving to the car behind you. "Anna! Hey! My mom made you lunch!" She gives you an owlish look before snapping into a smile and you can tell she didn't have a very good night, it's seldom she does. Especially when she's staying at her own house.

"Leah! Hey! Thanks!!" She takes the lunch box and hugs it tight to her chest. "So.. uh, you think it would be wise to take uh.." she scratches her arm and adjusts the strap on her bra. You raise an eyebrow. Friends can always tell when friends are scared to bring something up. "(Codeine?)" she whispers as you enter the building. With good reason too, as you spot a teacher entering the building beside you two. You look at her in shock and head down to sit at a cafeteria table.

"Where the hell'd you get drugs from Anna?! I knew you were dealing in alcohol, but this?!" She looks ashamed. She should be! Drugs? You know that's not her. "You have so much potential in front of you! Don't waste it on becoming a druggie!" She bites her lip and you decide to scale it back a bit. She looks a little scared and that's never what you want. 

"I know! I know okay? But uh.. Xavier does it and he's fine! And uh... the kid on the bus said it would make all my problems go away.." You bury your face in your hands. "B-besides! I don't know the running rate for that stuff. I don't wanna sell it for dirt cheep and get ripped off!" 

"Oh Anna, PLEASE tell me you didn't BUY that stuff with the intention of taking it!?" She shakes her head fast.

"No!! Of course not! We... made a trade"

"And who is WE?" She shifts in her spot. 

"Derek" she says sheepishly. Ugh, that guy, he's the greasiest asshole in the school. Gross. You tell her so. "Listen! Okay! I know what I'm doing, do you.. wanna do it with me?" You scoff and cross your arms. You can't help but put an angry look on your face and scowl at her. Which makes her back up and your heart hurts a little. The bell rings and you stand up.

"I love ya to the ends of the world Anna, but please don't try to drag me down with you? I know you're sad, but please don't do drugs, and if you do just... don't get caught?" She nods in shame and you think about taking the lunch box away from her to show how disappointed you are. But you figure that would be bad, penalizing wrong-doings with a lack of food. "I am incredibly disappointed in you. But I gotta get to first period. I'll see you later." You turn on your heel and walk off. You do all you can to resist looking back, but can't, and view her pulling a chunk out of her hair. You feel incredibly guilty, but keep walking anyways. She's going to be late for class, if she even goes.

In third period, the only one you share on Tuesdays, she sits as far away from you as possible. And won't look you in the eye all of lunch, even though you do sit together. You don't talk much. After a full day of agonizing silence between you two, at the end of the day you blurt out "I'm not mad at you you know?"

"What?" 

"You've been sheepish and scared of me all day. I just wanna say, I'm not mad." She fidgets. You think about going to rub her shoulder, but she'd probably tear away. 

"But you-"

"I know what I did, I'm sorry, it was too harsh, I know you're having a rough time... what do you say you come over to my place tomorrow? My mom's making banana bread." She smiles and nods. Putting things away in her locker. "Okay!! I'll tell my mom you're coming, I gotta catch a bus though, see you later!" She waves goodbye and you skip out of the school. Feeling much happier than you did beforehand. As you walk, you think about yours and Anna's history. 

Over the eight years you and Anna have been friends, your mom, and recently you have been picking up on the... little things. Like when she flinches if someone moves too fast or raises a hand. Or how she'll start bawling if an adult raises their voice. She's never not been thin. Your sister tried to cram something out of her sister once. But Abby got defensive fast and ended up giving your sister a black eye. She then begged for you not to press charges and of course your mom didn't. That was back when they were in the eleventh grade and you and Anna were three years behind in grade eight. 

Of course, your mom and you need more concrete evidence before you can do anything at all. And you're not even sure if it would be wise to face it head on. But it kills you to see Anna like this. And you know that lately Anna's been getting into trouble. Your mother seems to be caring more about her grades than her and her mom combined. And she's been refusing the lunches you bring her less and less lately. 

You feel like it's your responsibility to save her before everything's too late.


End file.
